Dedicated to the Business of Contemporary Live Music
NATIONAL PROMOTER and production company has acquired Cambridge festivals Strawberries & Creem (cap, 10,000) and The Cambridge Club (5,000) from S&C Productions for an unspecified sum. Taking first step into the greenfield festival sector, Senbla says it intends to expand the events’ capacities, expand them from single to multi-day events…
Read moreNOT SURPRISINGLY, Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) was unable to give an opening date during a virtual launch of 3,000-capacity The Globe, in Stockton-on-Tees. Facilities at the venue, which has had a £28 million refurbishment funded by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, with support from a £4.5m National Lottery grant, include an orchestra…
Read moreTHE PHASE 2 in-depth investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into Viagogo’s $4.05 billion (£2.91bn) acquisition of StubHub has resulted in a provisional decision that the merger would be anti-competitive. The CMA said potential options for addressing its concerns include requiring Viagogo to sell all or part of…
Read moreARTS COUNCIL England is distributing funds totaling £333 million to 1,973 cultural entities, including venues, festivals and promoters, as part of the Government’s Cultural Recovery Fund. The first round of grants, announced on 12 October saw £257m awarded, with the second round on 19 October seeing a further £76m allocated….
Read moreOAK VIEW Group (OVG) has been given planning permission to build a 23,500-capacity arena in Manchester’s Etihad Campus, which will be named Co-op Live. The £350 million venue, located next to Manchester City football club’s Etihad Stadium (cap. 63,000) in the Eastlands area of Manchester, will compete directly with the ASM…
Read moreAFTER YEARS of controversy surrounding its name, Bristol’s Colston Hall has chosen a new one, Bristol Beacon, with immediate effect. Previously named after 17th century slave trader and philanthropist Edward Colston, the hall launched a consultation on the issue in 2017, which has involved 4,000 people and several live events….
Read moreTHE DEPARTMENT for Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) has awarded over £1 million more to small venues than the £2.25 million it pledged in July. Venues receiving grants of between £1,000 and £80,000 include London’s The Troubadour (cap. 135), Birmingham’s The Sunflower Lounge (120) and Think Tank? (200) in…
Read morePAN-EUROPEAN festival and concert promoter FKP Scorpio has hired former DHP Family executives Scott O’Neill and Daniel Ealam. The duo will join Barry Campbell and James Cassidy on the board of FKP Scorpio UK, which was launched in 2008. Its recent projects include arena tours of BBC Earth nature documentaries,…
Read moreFOURTEEN VENUES operated by Academy Music Group (AMG) have commissioned local artists to create works that with the theme and words This Is Just an Interval. Venue sponsor O2 believes the initiative, part of a national campaign, will help to remind music fans that the venues are waiting to return…
Read moreTHE DEPARTMENT for Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) has awarded over £1 million more to small venues than the £2.25 million it pledged in July. Venues receiving grants of between £1,000 and £80,000 include London’s The Troubadour (cap. 135), Birmingham’s The Sunflower Lounge (120) and Think Tank? (200) in…
Read moreLARGE VENUES in England could be eligible to apply for £270 million of repayable funds under the government’s £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF), announced in July. The loans, whose criteria were announced on 14 August, are aimed at culturally significant organisations, viable before Covid-19 but now at risk of…
Read moreINDOOR CONCERTS can take place from 15 August under socially distanced conditions, says the Government, which had originally set the date as 1 August. To stage a live indoor event, organisers must limit audience capacity to ensure social distancing throughout the premises. Measures involved include making a risk assessment –…
Read moreTHE COMPANY behind a new type of anti-viral face covering believes its product could play a significant role in reopening indoor live music and other sectors. AnyBrand, headed by hotel entrepreneur Colin Graham, is lobbying both the Department of Culture Media & Sport (DCMS) Select Committee and umbrella body UK…
Read moreVETERAN AGENT, promoter, talent developer Rob Hallett and his company Robomagic are parting company with Live Nation Entertainment. The companies joined forces three years ago. Hallett helped develop artistes including Dexy’s Midnight Runners, UB40, Adam Ant and Duran Duran in the 1980s, debuted the likes of Justin Timberlake and Destiny’s…
Read moreVETERAN AGENT John Jackson’s K2 Agency has joined forces with Los Angeles-based private equity firm The Yucaipa Companies (TYC), whose entertainment arm owns US agency Artist Group International (AGI). K2 was formed by Jackson in October 2002, with clients Iron Maiden, Metallica and Guns N’Roses, after he left Helter Skelter…
Read moreTHE DEBATE over whether the city needs a second arena has heated-up as Manchester Arena (cap. 21,000) operator ASM Global unveils plans for an upgrade to 24,000 capacity, Rival Oak View Group (OVG), also US based, is proposing a 23,500-capacity arena in the city’s Eastlands district, saying it would be…
Read moreTHE ANNOUNCEMENT by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that indoor performances with socially distanced audiences could take place throughout England from 1 August, has been given a cautious welcome by the Association of Independent Promoters (AIP). Johnson said that the Department of Digital, Culture Media and Sport is working with the…
Read moreA SERIES of drive-in concerts at 12 sites across has been cancelled by promoter Live Nation Entertainment (LNE), which cites the potential for local lockdowns as the reason. Sponsored by energy company Utilita, the concerts promised a typical capacity of 300 cars with up to seven people per car, for…
Read moreTHE ANNUAL survey of festivals’ environmental practices by sustainability campaign Vision 2025 takes a different tone this year following the cancellation of all events this summer. Instead of questions about organisers’ sustainability practices during the season, the poll will ask them how their experiences this year will affect their environmental…
Read moreViagogo offered to divest itself of StubHub’s European business in a last minute bid to gain a green light from UK regulators over the controversial $4.05 billion acquisition of its secondary ticketing rival. The news was revealed on 17 July, after the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) published a full…
Read more
